I flew with one First Officer when, as soon as he leveled off at top of climb, begain a laborious process of determining his top of descent point....some five hours hence.
He would twist the bezel of his fancy Breitling watch (you know the type, the one that does everything but tell the time of day
)...and when it came to the TOD point, he would start down...and get it
wrong nearly every time.
I then suggested that he simply close the taps at 110DME, point the nose down, and adjust his speed accordingly, to arrive at at reasonable point for the instrument approach.
Type, L1011
Worked every time.
With each passing day, younger folks learn the tricks of the trade....it just took this fellow a little longer.
